Lindor returns to Mets' lineup after missing nearly 2 weeks with lower back pain

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Francisco Lindor is back in the New York Mets’ lineup. And the team is confident he’s feeling good enough to stay there the rest of the regular season.

The star shortstop went 2 for 4 with a walk and an error Friday night in an 8-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that marked his first appearance since Sept. 15. Lindor had played only one inning over the past 10 games due to lower back pain, though he was on deck and ready to pinch hit when the Mets made the final out of their 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

“I felt good enough,” Lindor said afterward. “The pain comes and goes. I'm happy with that.”

While the return of Lindor was encouraging, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez exited with back spasms in the seventh inning. Alvarez hurt himself sliding into third base and was lifted for a pinch runner. He was advancing from second to third as Tyrone Taylor grounded out.

Alvarez said he felt scared initially because he'd never dealt with this type of issue before, but he was more optimistic after the game.

“I feel my body's doing way better,” Alvarez said. “I feel just a little bit tight. I really think we'll see tomorrow how it's going to feel, and let's see if I can play tomorrow.”

The Mets are competing with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves for the final two NL wild-card playoff spots. The Mets and Braves would play a doubleheader Monday in Atlanta if their postseason fates aren't settled by then.

New York manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns both expressed optimism that Lindor could play Saturday, Sunday and both games of a Monday doubleheader if that scenario arises.

Lindor agreed.

“With how everything went tonight, yes,” Lindor said. “We'll see how I bounce back tomorrow, but how everything went tonight, yeah. Thank God everything went well. My body was responding the way I want it to respond."

Lindor said anything that involves bending over is what currently bothers him the most as he comes back from the injury.

“This time of year there's nobody playing without pain,” Lindor said. "It's part of the game.”

Lindor had been penciled into the starting lineup Wednesday night in Atlanta before that game was rained out. Mendoza said Lindor’s participation in a workout Thursday in Milwaukee provided more reason for encouragement.

“The way he was swinging the bat, the way he was moving around, the way he ran the bases, the smile on his face, the conversations we’re having,” Mendoza said before the game as he listed his reasons for optimism. “Now we’ve just got to go out there, watch him and continue to treat it day by day.”

Stearns was asked if Lindor would be playing if he were feeling this way in mid-May rather than the final weekend of the regular season with a playoff berth at stake.

“I think we’re at the point with Francisco where he’s feeling pretty good,” Stearns said. “He’s ready to go.”

The 30-year-old Lindor is batting .273 with a .344 on-base percentage, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 27 steals in 149 games.

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New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez (4) exits the field with coaches and trainers after suffering an injury at third base during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor gestures to an umpire during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor sits in the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor sits in the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Lindor returns to Mets' lineup after missing nearly 2 weeks with lower back pain

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor prepares for an at-bat during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Lindor returns to Mets' lineup after missing nearly 2 weeks with lower back pain

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.

Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.

The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.

“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.

This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)